I no longer believe , as I once did, that to be creative means you must assume the label of "artist." Running a business can be creative. Cooking can be creative. Rearranging the living room furniture can be creative. Solving a problem, any problem, can be creative.

Pursuing a creative life is the closest I've come to spirituality. It can be verbal (I have a degree in creative writing with an emphasis on poetry), visual (for me, that is now photography), emotional (motherhood) , erotic. . . or any number of other activities or states of being, seeing, imagining, inventing, nurturing. . . etc. etc.

In June of 2007 a friend of mine who had seen a few random photos that I'd posted to my blog sent me an email and said, "Hey, you should check out Flickr. You might enjoy it." I didn't know what Flickr was, but I did a Google search, found it, and was surprised at how overcome I was by a huge urge to pick up my camera (an old point-and-shoot that I used only rarely) and start taking lots and lots of pictures.

I began taking my funky little Olympus with me whenever I walked the dog, which was pretty much every day. My budding interest in photography almost instantly became a passion, albeit the passion of a beginner. And my subject matter became my neighborhood, often (but not always) seen in terms of abstract compositions (my natural bent, it seems).

What I love about this hobby is how it has opened my eyes to so many new ways of seeing and re-seeing. After focusing primarily on writing for the last 35 years, I've "discovered" a whole new dimension of life, a wonderful new opportunity to be creative. The possibilities of photography fascinate me. And I've only grazed the surface! (Have graduated to a Canon Powershot G9; still not ready for a DSLR, financially or technically.)

Being a part of Flickr has enhanced the experience many times over. I'm a total addict, and it's a lovely addiction.